Chapter 34 Setup
"Mmm!" Dorian smacked his lips as he looked down at the plate full of grilled ribs, his mouth watering.
The rich smell of the meat, slathered in some type of exotic sauce, gave off a tangy scent mixed with the warm bread off next to it.
He tore off one of the ribs and bit down hard, his hard Titan teeth smashing up the bone and meat together. It was delicious, the juices flowing and fat melting into his mouth like butter.
Dorian dived into his food, quickly devouring it. Around him, the busy Blue Dragon Eatery unfolded, with several dozen common wood tables dotted with customers. He took a moment to take a sip of water, feeling its cool, refreshing taste.
Half the water used in Potor was apparently created, and sold, by Water Wizards. The other half was found using deep underground wells to source them, from the occasional rainstorm, or from any stray rivers found on the World Bridge.
Water on the surface of Taprisha was a scant resource. At the bottoms of the oceans of nothingness, there were large lakes that could be found. But that could be thousands of meters away from the normal, populated ground level and in areas full of danger.
A few other customers shot Dorian glances from the side, staring as he ate down his meal voraciously. Most of the customers here were dressed in nicer clothes, either ornamented leather or fine silk. His plain and simple leather garments stood out.
"Ahh!" Dorian rubbed his stomach comfortably, feeling the warm food settle.
"Delicious!" He took another gulp of water and then got up, leaving. You purchased your meal prior to eating it here.
The food itself had been expensive, costing him half a gold mint, but definitely worth the price.
As he left the restaurant, he contemplated what to do.
He'd already visited two separate Blood Magic shops, checking out their stock. He'd found, to his disappointment, that while 10 gold mints wasn't a pitiful amount, and for someone at the Mortal or Earth Class it was a sizable number, it was hardly enough to afford anything decent.
Even the weakest bloodline the two stores had sold was at the Earth Class, and a single pint cost more than 40 gold mints.
When Dorian transformed into any bloodline, his powerful soul would automatically boost its strength. That boost could only do so much, however. If the bloodline was one that maxed out at the Earth Class, his soul might not even be able to boost it to Sky Class. The higher the bloodline, the more effectively he could boost its strength.
The danger in picking a weak from was obvious. If he transformed and was limited to, say, the Earth Class, in strength, it would be very easy for anyone to pick him off.
His soul was, right now, at the Grandmaster Class.
Once you reached the Grandmaster Class, and above, each Class was separated by a few inner stages. The Early, Mid, Late, and Peak stages. A person with a Soul Spell Matrix at the Peak Grandmaster Class would have a soul with 6 to 8 times more energy than someone at the Early stage, and would be able to use a much larger number of Abilities or Spells. Each Stage represented a huge increase in energy.
These stages were ways a Wizard, or warrior, could track their growth and measure how strong they were.
Dorian's own soul was at the Middle Stage of the Grandmaster Class. He mentally called up his status.
–
Dorian – Soul Status
Soul Stage: Grandmaster Class (Middle)
Health: Perfect
Energy: 205/212
–
The mental screen was a bit different. Dorian, in an effort to gauge how strong he actually was, had asked Ausra to list his energy where 100 points would be the full energy of an Early Grandmaster Class beast or Wizard.
Under this metric, using his Flame Claws for several minutes cost him about 2 points of energy. Unleashing his Emerald Flames cost him about 30 points of energy.
It was a crude setup, but it helped give him a general idea of his own strength, and that of others.
Though the Blood Magic shops had outstripped Dorian's budget, he did gain a valuable piece of information from one of the clerks.
There was another type of shop he could find here in Potor called a Preservation Store. Not only did these stores cater to people using Blood Magic, selling similar kinds of stock, they also sold perfectly preserved corpses, complete with bloodlines, stored in time. These shops were run by Wizards who dabbled in Time Magic, and it was entirely possible the Soul Spell Matrixes of the fallen creatures were still lingering.
As long as he could enter the shop and get near some of those preserved corpses… Who said he'd have to pay for anything, right?
A tiny voice in his heart, one that sounded much like his mother, yelled at him for even considering stealing. He tried to ignore that voice with a grim shrug. They most likely couldn't even access or use the Soul Spell Matrix of the fallen creatures, so it was a grey area for him.
He would figure it out when the time came. Maybe he would be able to purchase them normally, like the upstanding citizen he used to be.
"Hey, don't just stand there!" Dorian blinked as someone rudely yelled at him. He had just left the restaurant and was standing off on the side of the street, but already busy people were brushing past him in a hurry. Whenever those people took a good look at him, however, most of them paled and back off, not pursuing the encounter.
The culture of this city seemed to be incredibly fast-paced. Everyone was constantly moving, whether off to explore nearby islands, hunting for resources and beasts in the wild, on expeditions to the dangerous floors of the oceans of nothingness, or traveling on trade routes between other cities.
No one ever seemed to take the time just to simply live.
Dorian shook his head. He didn't like it. He was far more used to the calm, but dangerous, action and relaxation in the wilderness.
He wondered if he would've felt the same way if he had been born into this world directly as a human like his previous life, instead of as whatever he was.
He turned towards the north, deciding to walk towards one of the northern gates to the city while he figured out his plans. As he moved, he vaguely noticed a figure step out directly in front of him, almost as if on purpose.
"Watch it, buddy!"
Yet another person bumped into him and yelled rudely. Dorian ignored him and continued walking, getting used to how the locals lived.
This person, however, didn't walk away like all the others.
"Hey! I said watch it! You almost killed me there!" Dorian felt some arms push into his back, trying to knock him forward. He frowned, and then calm to a halt, feeling the person stumbled backwards.
"Can I help you?" Iron hedged into his tone as he turned, and then blinked, taken aback.
A man stood before him, wearing a set of grey leather pants and a fine, black silk shirt. He was above average height for a human, and well muscled, with a sword at his waist. What stood out, however, was the man's dark skin color.
Was he a Dark Elf? Dorian's eyes opened wide in anticipation as he glanced up at the man's ears.
They were round.
Ah. He was just black. Right.
Dorian mentally berated himself. Now that he thought about it, he could make out a few other dark skinned humans in the crowd. He hadn't paid particularly close attention to the skin color of most humans, but he could see that around 1 in 10 had darker skin.
'He's a human that has no training in magic, but has practiced as a warrior, and has experienced the baptism of the laws needed to grow one's Soul Spell Matrix beyond bloodline limits. His strength places him approximately at the peak of the Earth Class, able to lift several hundred pounds of weight or leave light dents in normal metal.' Ausra gave a brief breakdown of the man's strength.
Instead of responding, the man simply lobbed a punch at Dorian.
Dorian watched in bemusement as the fist of the fighter punched out and landed on his chest.
His current physique was at the very peak of Master Class. A wave of his hand could rip a thick tree in half. Even a punch that could dent metal most likely wouldn't be able to harm his Titan physique.
And, not unexpectedly, the attacker's punch landed on his chest and then stopped resoundingly, a cracking noise ringing out.
"Arrgh!" The man bellowed, yelling loudly.
"Careful, a fight!"
"Guards! Guards!"
Passersby began to spread out, moving away from the encounter as the dark skinned man wailed, clutching at his hand. A few took a closer look at the scene, taking a break from their busy day to watch.
Dorian frowned at the hubbub and the sheer convenience of the situation. This felt contrived and setup.
A few moments passed as the man stumbled backwards in pain, clutching at his fist, while the crowd grew, staring in interest.
Almost as soon as he had the thought, with near perfect timing, a troop of eight guards wearing grey leather armor appeared, wielding broadswords at their waists. The official insignia of the City Lord of Potor, a vague image of a flying bird with a sword grasped in its talon, was emblazoned on their chestplates.
"Alright, move along, folks." Two of the guards broke off from the troop, urging bystanders to keep walking. The crowd that had just started to form dispersed, people returning to their busy lives.
"You're going to need to come with us for questioning, sir, for causing such a disturbance on a public street." One of the guards, the apparent head of this troop stepped forward. A grizzled man with wrinkled skin and short brown hair. His voice left no room for negotiation.
"Really? And what about the man that attacked me?" Dorian stared at the guard, his voice calm, only a hint of anger in it. He felt like he was in a movie with someone was trying to hustle him.
The grizzled guard looked around.
"What man?" The man's eyes were hard as he motioned for the other guards to surround Dorian.
Dorian looked around as well, seeing no sign of the man that had attacked him. He blinked in consternation,
"He was about this tall, an African-America- uh, a dark skinned man, I mean-" The guard cut him off before he could finish speaking,
"Are you going to come with us peacefully, or not? I will only ask you this once, troublemaker." The guard's voice was uncaring as he dropped his hand to his sword.
The other guards had finished surrounding him, all of them with their hands on their weapons. Dorian stared at them, his eyes narrowing to slits.
This was definitely a setup of some kind. Only: Why? He didn't even know anyone in the city, yet the guards of the city themselves were arresting him?
How ridiculous.
Dorian took a deep breath, and then put on a cheerful smile. A Lord Class Wizard ruled this city. It would be unwise to cause a commotion here, out in the open.
"Sure, why not?"
Well, he thought, cracking his knuckles silently, it seemed like he'd have a chance to test out the new Ability he'd gained quicker than he thought.
The inherent Ability every Titan gained as they became an adult.
The 'Condense' Ability.
..
The Planet Torrin was made almost entirely of water, with a few long, branching strips of land. It was dominated by members of the Sea Races, like the Sea Aeth, Aquatic Wyverns, the Myra Race, and more.
Helena smiled as she looked up at the World Bridge they were just entering, giving a small nod to the aquatic world behind her. The world had been a beautiful one to fly through, the exotic clouds and gorgeous water creating quite a sight. It had been relaxing, and helped relieve the little bud of stress she'd formed in her heart.
"Lady Helena, we've received word from some of the other Reavers!" One of her Blood Wizards stepped forward, a male vampire skilled, and in charge, of long distance communication for this group. He was gaunt, with a loose robe that made him look almost skeletal.
Helena looked at the thin man, nodding for him to continue.
"Trajan and Probus both just arrived on Taprisha ahead of us, and will receive you at the World Bridge entrance from Torrin. Their target is, according to scouts, making its way there."
"Oh?" Helena muttered, slightly surprised. She only vaguely knew that her target had last been seen on Hasnorth. She'd received unconfirmed reports from the agents of Spymaster Julia that it was headed towards Taprisha, but that was all. They'd lost track of the Anomaly and she was going to be forced to start hunting for it cold.
It seemed Trajan and Probus were already hot on the trail of their target and had raced ahead at full speed. The two of them were extremely powerful Pseudo-King Class Wizards that, with their unique style of magic, could match up against a Mid King Class beast together. For them to already be on Taprisha, they must've traveled non-stop.
They were waiting for her, and wanted her aid, though… Their target must be strong enough that they weren't convinced they could ambush it without letting it escape.
"How should I respond, Lady Helena?" The gaunt vampire asked, his voice respectful.
"Tell them I'll be there in…" She paused for a moment, remembering the distance to Taprisha from here. The World Bridge from the aquatic world of Torrin was a long one, even with their fast transport. She might be able to make it there faster if she traveled on her own but then she'd have to leave behind her subordinates, which wasn't really an option. She needed them to track her own target.
"In two days."
.